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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Eva is very curious indeed! In my last post, I hinted slightly that I had a new found appreciation for green... well this is partly why :) The reason will become clearer over the next few posts.....and below is the obligatory unboxing photos :D

On the site itself, she was expected to take anywhere from 50-60 business days to be manufactured/delivered :O Payment in full was made on 19th January 2013, and I settled in for a long wait. Took time to learn about faceups, care for dolls, shopping for shoes etc. No clothes, as I am pretty familiar with sewing and have ready materials for her clothes. No sewing machine though, but am working on that ;)

This is my new doll! okay, no, this is the assembly manual XD (behind are the assembly manuals for the other larger sized dolls offered by Iplehouse). She is an Iplehouse Lonnie, in Normal Skin, with no faceup. I did change my mind about the faceup a week after payment, but was told about their new policies for 2013, and it was too late to add it to my order :( No matter, my original plan was to do her faceup myself, so this is not a setback really :)

HOWEVER, an email notification alerted me to her shipping date on the 29th Jan! Which was the same day I met my brother for lunch, and he bought me a belated birthday gift, a new Samsung Note II! AND THEN THE EMAIL!! omg i felt as if i'd made out like a bandit that day. must have been too much for my body, had a nosebleed the very next night XD. She arrived today, 31st January 2013 :) According to some people in the Iplehouse Waiting room on DoA forums, it's got to be one of the fastest shipping dates. Lucky, lucky me! I even commented that Iplehouse has ruined all my future doll purchases (if any :P ), don't think this experience can ever be beaten!

My fellow Iplehouse waiting room mates and FB dolly friends were super lovely, holding my hand along every single step of tracking her arrival to my doorstep XD It's so nice to have supportive pals who totally understand the crazed anxiety that comes with a tracking number. :P

I also purchased a saddle brown wig, and she came with a free 2013 desk calendar WOOP WOOP

Some brochures were included, and the middle photo is a special edition of Lonnie which was sold out :( I really wish I had known about this sculpt much earlier, alas. 'twas not to be! She was a really near-impulsive purchase. I had been looking for a doll, 1:4 size, and i knew Unoa Sist/Lusis was not within my reach, so while surfing, I came across Lonnie and it was love at first sight :)

in my rush to get her, i forgot to purchase a plastic face protector -_-" no matter, i saw some which might be suitable at Art Friend. Hope it works. Additional elastic, S-hooks and 1 magnet were provided.

That's my cousin's arm holding her. Up till that moment, I still had not gotten over the fear of holding a BJD. She held the cushioned sleeping bag while I mustered up the courage to remove the doll from it. XD

Bubble wrapped in all the right places (including the feet!)

The eyes were randomly assigned, and are 12mm acrylic eyes. I had hoped for a light green, or violet eyes...luckily these are pretty nice too, but will be shopping around for ones I prefer. Anyone have any suggestions on where I can purchase affordable glass eyes in either green or violet?

Here she is testing out her wig! Ahma seems really comfortable with holding her, and remarked that she's very pretty ^ ^ YAY APPROVAL FROM ELDERS XD XD XD

The whole doll came in very good condition. No visible cracks, etc. The only imperfection is this slight stain on the headcap, i'm not sure what it is or whether it can be removed, but I'll work on it when there's more light.

Lonnie, part of the KID range, 35cm 'tiny' dolls. She's meant to be approximately 10-12 years old, and that would make her 1:4 scale :)

For an additional USD$10, I opted for the mobility joint (thighs) for improved poseability. Thoroughly worth it, methinks. She stands quite well on her own too!

but not for long ;P here's a look at how her eyes are held in place, with what I'm guessing to be Sculpey. Which is kinda silly, cos although the eyes are supposed to be acrylic, they look as if they could be plastic? Ah well, switching it out with white-tack after she's dried.

mmhmm. took her apart ASAP. as I will be doing her faceup, i thought of perhaps blushing her body as well. we'll see how the weather and my mood is like tomorrow XD I'll probably practice on her nails and toes first....tackle the head after gaining a few experience points.

Ready for her bath! Bought Johnson's and Johnson's baby bath, the 'non-soap' variety with no moisturizers yada yada yada. not sure if it's the best deal, but from all the advice given on DoA, seems to fit all the criteria.

Air drying, since resin is porous, and towel wiping is insufficient. also, might leave lint or what-have-yous, so air dry it is! It's not noticeable here, but there were a few rather visible seam lines, i wet sanded them while giving her a bath. not a thorough job, but i'm pretty satisfied for now. :)

Side note: This is a 'normal skin' version, and she seems a lot yellower in afternoon light, which was also noticed and remarked upon by my cousin. I said it's ok, cos she's asian anyway XD The last pic was slightly edited and more intense in colour on my monitor than the actual velvety matte, slightly translucent flesh tone that i'm looking at right now. I RUVS IT

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And thus concludes my first ever experience as a BJD owner. I am going to try and document my faceup experience, dressmaking, etc etc here, just like how this blog originally set out to document my learning experience with miniature-making. For those who are new to the world of BJDs, I would recommend alot of Googling, as there is indeed a LOT to learn about this 'hobby'!

Aaaaand yes, she has a name, but I don't feel like she fits that name yet, since she has no face. So once I get that done, I will reveal her properly, with proper pics and stuff ^ ^

Hope you enjoyed this post! Time to rest, have lots to be done tomorrow. G'nite everyone~!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

It has been some time since I made these, but have never gotten round to using them. I remember first coming across some beautiful macaron boxes, in a similar design while looking for some inspiration in making petit fours. The idea stuck in my mind, and whilst waiting for a friend's wedding dinner to start, i grabbed a pencil and paper, drew out the template in a random size, tore it out, test assembled it and stuck it in my purse.

fast forward too many months later, i pulled it out from my drawer of half-baked ideas and drew out a template using Inkscape. modified it a little from the original, toyed around with a few colours, and decided that these are the ones i most like. i think i'll start using green in my next batch, and i'll explain a little more later my new appreciation for green....:P

Photospam ahead :P Each set has a different mix of macarons!

1:12 scale dollhouse miniature macaron sets - polymer clay

aaaand, I've also made available printables of these in 1:12, 1:6, 1:4 and 1:3 sizes! so now your macarons can sit in a cute little box, designed by me for your personal use :)

The bf is such a sweetie :) he surprised me with this dollhouse kit as part of my birthday surprise (back in Dec, i'm super pampered i know :P ).....and frankly i'm quite a terrible person to buy gifts for. Not only am i picky, there's hardly any space left in my room for personal effects now that i've shifted all my work stuff back into my bedroom :S I usually prefer a good meal with good company as i find such moments invaluable, and far more precious than an object i might not even appreciate :X

So when i received this, i was a little apprehensive. i'd never worked on a wooden dollhouse kit, other than the flimsy balsa wood kits i played with as a child. so opening this up and seeing the laser cut pieces, then measuring them and realizing they were 1:48.......AHHHH SO HAPPY!!!! mostly because it coincides with a purchase i've made recently....shhhhh it's a secret ;P

i looked through my stash of scrapbooking papers and decided on a colour scheme....this isn't exactly the sort of colour i would use for my own dollhouse, but the completed piece isn't destined for me ;) (that's a hint!)

i found the laser etched detailing a little too blah, so i added some basswood strips to give the window sills a little more dimension.

The front door opens!

View from the back

aaaand, cos i have a few gachapon Sylvanian family sets, as well as some cheapo 1:48 furniture sets in my collection of toys........TADAH!~ SO CUTE. the knitted bear on the bed (or maybe crocheted?) is a gift from my friend Sue, and the knitted bunny and bear at the piano were made by me using a free pattern i found on Ravelry (i think i've blogged about it before but i'm in a rush.......AHHHH LATE FOR DATE)

From the front! Will probably add some flowers and more details to the lawn, but this was a complete surprise, and progress this far took me 3 whole days :O i have stuff to get back to so......it'll do for now :)

WIP Donuts in 1:3 and 1:4/1:6 sizes :) Air dry clay

Decided to take more WIP pics, which means using my handphone/Instagram.

On a personal note, my health is improving slightly, and so am starting on commission work again ^ ^ Right now, my commission slots are full for Feb and Mar, but if you have any small requests (literally and figuratively XD ) do drop me a mail at snowfern at gmail dot com and I'll see if I can work on them alongside my current schedule :)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Happy New Year! I am seldom late in real life, but online, well, let's just say there are too many distractions :P Here's the result of a request I got just before the New Year (I think?) from a friend, I love working with her because her ideas are always in line with what I love to eat (or should I say 'used to' now that I'm on a diet!)...and given the opportunity to make it, of course I couldn't resist the challenge :E

Miniature Bubble Teas - 1:3 scale

the popular Bubble Teas! :D i love making these, but am quite allergic to the resin, so i think i'll limit production on them for a while.....

Miniature Fizzy Drinks - 1:3 scale

Miniature Portuguese Egg Tarts - 1:3 Scale

craving some right now. :X closest I can get some is probably...KFC?

Miniature Sweet Potato Fries - 1:3 scale

Miniature Fried Silver Fish - 1:3 Scale

these are pretty awesome to snack on, though I have only really tried them at this porridge (I think) store at Chinatown hawker centre. see quite a lot of ahpeks (local term for old men/uncles) snacking on them with beer.....

Miniature Taiwanese Chicken Cutlet - 1:3 scale

Used to snack on this quite frequently, probably why i had to get on this diet XD

1:3 bamboo skewer!!! and plastic bag!!! all made by me too! all 3 fried snacks have different sorts of batter, and i am immensely pleased with the results ^ ^ i know my friend is, her replies to these pics made me blush *^_^*

all made with air dry clay :)

okay, that's all the concentration i can give right now, going off to rest, been a rough few weeks, going for my checkups/bloodwork and taking grandma and brother for -their- appointments/emergencies. Chinese New Year is approaching too, have been doing some cleaning but it never seems to end, ey?

have to catch up with my blogreading soon too, feel a little disconnected....hope 2013 has been good so far for everyone!!

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. - Rainer Maria Rilke

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Google retired friend connect on Mar 1st 2012 :(
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